Data networks contain various network devices, such as switches, for sending and receiving data between two locations. For example, frame relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”) networks contain interconnected network devices that allow data packets or cells to be channeled over a circuit through the network from a host device to a remote device. For a given network circuit, the data from a host location is delivered to the network through a physical circuit which is a physical connection (such as a T1 line) that links to a switch of the network. The remote device that communicates with the host through the network also has a physical connection to a switch of the network. The communication path between the switches associated with the host and the remote device that passes through the network is a logical circuit. A single physical circuit may support multiple logical circuits in a data network.
In frame relay and ATM networks, end devices do not select different routes for data packets or cells sent between the host and the remote location, but always send the data packets or cells through the same path. A host device may have many logical circuits, such as permanent virtual circuits (“PVCs”) or switched virtual circuits (“SVCs”), linked to many remote locations. For example, a PVC sends and receives data packets or cells through the same path leading to the switch of the remote device's physical connection.
In large-scale networks, the host and remote end devices of a network circuit may be connected across different local access and transport areas (“LATAs”) which may in turn be connected to one or more Inter-Exchange Carriers (“IEC”) for transporting data between the LATAs. These connections are made through physical trunk circuits utilizing fixed logical connections known as Network-to-Network Interfaces (“NNIs”).
Periodically, failures may occur to the trunk circuits or the NNIs of network circuits in large-scale networks causing lost data. Currently, such network circuit failures are handled by dispatching technicians on each end of the network circuit (i.e., in each LATA) in response to a reported failure. The technicians manually access a logical element module to troubleshoot the logical circuit portion of the network circuit. The logical element module communicates with the switches in the data network and provides the technician with the status of the logical connections which make up the logical circuit. Once the technician determines the status of a logical connection at one end of a logical circuit (e.g., the host end), the technician then must access a network database to determine the location of the other end of the logical circuit so that its status may also be ascertained. If the technician determines the logical circuit is operating properly, the technician then accesses a physical element module to troubleshoot the physical circuit portion of the network circuit to determine the cause of the failure and then repair it.
Current methods of determining network circuit failures, however, suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback is that logical circuits must be identified one at a time using the logical element module to isolate failures. In the event of a physical circuit failure, several logical circuits may need to be identified. The individual identification of logical circuits is time intensive and results in dropped data packets or cells until each of the logical circuits is isolated and repaired. Furthermore troubleshooting the physical circuit often requires taking the network circuit out of service to perform testing, thus increasing the downtime and loss of data in the network circuit.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.
In accordance with the present invention, the above and other problems are solved by methods for real time simultaneous monitoring of logical circuits in a data network. According to one method, trap data is received for a group of logical circuits in the data network. The trap data may include current status information for each of the circuits in the logical circuit group. Next, based on the trap data, a logical identifier associated with each of the logical circuits in the group is identified. Then, each of the logical identifiers is associated with customer data stored in a database. The customer data includes one or more logical identifiers associated with a customer identification. Finally, the current status information for one or more logical circuits is displayed along with the corresponding customer identification.
The method may further include updating the customer data with the current status information. Each logical circuit may include one or more logical connections for communicating data in the data network. The trap data for the logical circuit group may include trap data for one or more logical connections. The logical identifiers may be data link connection identifiers (“DLCIs”) or virtual path/virtual circuit identifiers (“VPI/VCIs”). Each logical connection may include a network-to-network interface. The data network may be a frame relay network or an asynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”) network. The logical circuit may be a permanent virtual circuit (“PVC”) or a switched virtual circuit (“SVC”).
In accordance with other aspects, the present invention relates to a system for real time simultaneous monitoring of logical circuits in a data network. The system includes a network device for collecting trap data for a group of logical circuits in the data network. The trap data includes current status information for each of the logical circuits in the group. The system also includes a logical element module in communication with the network device. The logical element module receives the trap data for the logical circuit group. The system further includes a network management module in communication with the logical element module. The network management module receives the trap data from the logical element module and identifies a logical identifier associated with each of the logical circuits in the group, based on the trap data. The network management module also associates each of the logical identifiers with customer data stored in a database. The customer data includes one or more logical identifiers associated with a customer identification. The network management module displays the current status information for one or more logical circuits along with the corresponding customer identification.
These and various other features as well as advantages, which characterize the present invention, will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings.